Author • Turkish literature

Osman Şahin

He was born in Arslanköy, Mersin in 1940. He completed his primary school education in the village he was born and then attended the Dicle Village Institute in Diyarbakır. After his higher education in Ankara Gazi Education Institute, Department of Physical Education, he worked in Eastern and Southeastern Turkey as a sports teacher in high schools. In 1992, his story “Son Yörük” won second prize in a competition organized by the Sweden Humanist International Association. In the same year he won Ömer Seyfettin Story Award with his book Selam Ateşleri and in 1994 he was awarded with Sait Faik Story Award. He was awarded twice with Yunus Nadi Award; for Mahşer in 1998 and for Ölüm Oyunları in 2003. Osman Şahin has written numerous works, including Kırmızı Yel (1971), Acenta Mirza (1974), Geloş Dağı Efsanesi (2000), Sonuncu İz (2007), Darağacı Avı (2010) and Ölümün Süt Dişleri (2012). His stories have been translated into more than ten languages, and twenty-three of them have been adapted into films. Among the most notable adaptations are Fırat’ın Cinleri (1977, director Korhan Yurtsever), Kibar Feyzo (1978, dir. Atıf Yılmaz), Derman, Firar, and Kurbağalar (1983, 1984 and 1985, dir. Şerif Gören), Züğürt Ağa (1985, dir. Nesli Çölgeçen) and Yağmurdan Sonra (2008, dir. Faruk Turgut). For his great effort in literature, he was awarded with City of Mersin Literature Award in 2009; his contribution to Turkish cinema was awarded with SİYAD Honor Award in 2012, with 23^rd Adana Film Festival Honor Award in 2016 and with Cinema Honorary Award at the 37th Istanbul Film Festival in 2018.